GOITSEMANG MATLHABE
Professor Taole Resetselemang Mokoena has been announced as the new Health Ombud by Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla, starting his role on Thursday.
Mokoena takes over from Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, who officially ended his seven-year term as the country's first Health Ombudsman on Wednesday.
Makgoba was appointed at the helm for a non-renewable term of seven years by former Health Minister - now Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi on June 1, 2016.
In announcing the appointment of Mokoena during a briefing in Pretoria, Phaahla described the incoming Health Ombud as a scholar who had transcended the globe to show the quality of the South Africans' academic prowess.
He is a medical graduate of the University of Natal, a graduate of the University of Oxford, and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.
Although he recently retired as a professor and academic head of the Department of Surgery, chief surgeon of the Department of General Surgery at the University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic, he continues his work on a part-time or sessional basis to teach, train and supervise undergraduate, and post-graduate medical students.
He also serves on a number of health bodies, including the South African Medical Association, the Health Professions Council of South Africa, the College of Medicine of South Africa, and the College of Surgeons of South Africa.
Mokoena also chaired the panel for the Investigation of Surgical Deaths at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital between 1996 and 1997, and the panel of Inquiry into Discrimination within the Cardiology Department at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
"We wish him success in his new responsibility and assure him of unparalleled support at all material times," said Phaahla.
The Health Ombud is an independent body established in terms of the National Health Amendment Act of 2013, with the responsibility to protect and promote the health and safety of users of health services by considering, investigating, and disposing of complaints in the national health system relating to non-compliance.